Rotary converter



(No Model.)

' E. W. RICE, Jr.

ROTARY CONVERTER.

No. 583,944. Patented June 8,1897.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

EDWIN \V. RICE, .IR., OF SCHENECTADY, NEIV YORK, ASSIGNOR TO THE GENERALELECTRIC COMPANY, OF NEIV YORK.

ROTARY CQNVERTER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 583,944, dated June 8,1897.

Application filed March 14,1896- erial No. 583,168. (No model.)

To (ZZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, EDWIN WV. RICE, J12, a citizen of the United States,residing at Schenectady, in the county of Schenectady, State of NewYork, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in RotaryConverters, (Case No. 369,) of which the following is a specifica tion.

My invention relates to dynamo-electric machines, especially to suchmachines when used as rotary converters of the polyphase or single-phasetype, by means of which alternating currents are converted intoeontinuous, or vice versa, the outgoing currents being then utilized forany purpose to which they may be applicable.

The invention is in part applicable to dynamo-electric machines of anytype.

It has for its object to balance the armatures of such apparatus, usingthe term in its electrical sense, so that their action is improved andthe commutation is effected with more facility.

To accomplish the ends pointed out, I preferably use a single-woundarmature of the now well-known Bradley type. This may be either a ringor drum winding without atfecting my invention. I have shown it in theaccompanying drawings as a ring-winding, but this is an immaterialfeature. The armature is provided upon one side with a commutator of asuitable number of segments for the Winding chosen, and upon the otherside with collector-rings for the alternating current. Thecollector-rings are connected to suitable points in the winding, in thecase of three-phase machines, at one hundred and twenty degrees apart.In a twophase apparatus they would of course be ninety degrees apart. Toobtain the improved balancing to which I have referred, I also connectall of the equipotential points around the armature, either by leadspassing from one point to another, one of such leads being connected tothe collecting-ring, or I connect each of the equipotential points tothe collecting-ring by each cycle being taken at three hundred and sixtydegrees.

The accompanying drawings show my invention, Figure 1 being a sideelevation of my improved converter, and Figs. 2 and 3 being explanatorydiagrams of the connections, Fig. 2 showing the invention applied to afourpole machine, and Fig. 3 to one of eight poles.

A is the base of the machine.

13 13 are the parts of the field-magnet frame.

0 C are the pedestals.

D is the usual lifting-ring applied to the upper part of thefield-magnet.

E E E are the collecting-rings.

F is the armature, and G is the commutator.

No special feature of novelty is embraced in the mechanical constructionof the ma chine.

Referring to Fig. 2, I show how the equi potential parts of the armatureare connected. I have illustrated, as will be apparent, a threephasemachine having four poles N S, (to. The number of points in thearmature-winding tapped is the number of phases into the number of pairsof poles. I11 the case illustrated there would be of course siX pointsat which the ari'nature-winding would be connected according to myinvention. These points are numbered consecutively 1 to 6 around thearmature-winding f, and two of them would be connected to each of thecollector-rings. The points 1. and et are connected to the ring E points2 and 5 to the ring E, and points 3 and (5 to the ring E Referring nowto Fig. 3, I show the application of the invention to an eight-pole machine, using also the three-phase construction. In this there would befour pairs of p0lepieces and three phases, and consequently there wouldbe twelve points around the commutator. Points 1, 4, 7, and 10 areconnected to the ring E 2, 5, 8, and 11 to the ring E and 3, 6, 9, and12 to the ring E.

In the case of converters of diiferent numbers of poles the sameprinciple may be easily applied, various numbers of points of thewinding being interconnected, according to the number of poles andnumber of phases,

1. An armature for dynamo-electric apparatus of the alternating-currenttype, comprising a Winding and collecting rings, each collecting-ringconnected to leads equally spaced around the armature-winding andconnecting equipotential points of each phase to one of thecollecting-rings.

2. A rotary convert-er comprising an arnmture and surroundingfield-poles, the armaio mire-Winding connected upon one side to {L 1

